Beacon of Hope
by CrimsonShadow345
Summary: In the decaying streets of what was once New York City; Dana Mercer found a child. A boy who could understand but not speak; more importantly he was a boy who could love. She could not leave him there to die so he was taken in by her. Safe from the dangers of the world; possibly safe from the viral mutant who flew overhead. Rated T for feels; blood/gore, death and fluff.
1. Chapter 1: Savior

Beacon of Hope

She ran….

She ran for cover, she ran for protection from the bullets of BLACKWATCH soldiers and the monsters that prowled this once beautiful city; now reduced to a pile of rubble. Alex Mercer wasn't around as much; he was hunting the Infected as well as any more of…..whatever he was. When she looked in his eyes, he saw only a remnant of the boy that was once her brother; currently she saw carnage, a bloodlust that not even people like Jeffery Dahmer, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, or John Wayne Gacy could match. Now that her tears had dried, she knew what she had to do; fight. She possessed the same bravery and tenacity as her brother, just not the superpowers. She was equally capable of surviving as long as she got to a non-infected area like Queens, or if she made it to another state like Connecticut or Pennsylvania, that was her plan until today….when she heard the scream.

"GO AWAY!"

She turned and saw that a Blackwatch agent was pushing someone around. She couldn't see who it was; but she could hear his screams quite clearly as the Blackwatch agent hit him. Dana watched in horror the soldier kicked him a final time in the ribs and walked away. The boy dropped to his knees in the pile of blood and let out a heart-wrenching sob; wrapping his arms around himself for the sake of having a comforting touch, even if it was from himself. Dana approached and got a closer look at him, he had a black and red, ripped t-shirt, black jeans, dress shoes and a backpack across his back. His hair was long and messy; a shade of dark red. He dropped the gun as he bent buried his head into his hands; trembling as he wept. Her eyes widened as she saw that he was just a little, looking about the age of 12. Dana knew that he might be unstable, maybe a little psychotic, but her motherly side was taking over; his emotional state rendering him powerless to do anything to her. She approached him and calmly put a hand on his back, causing him to jerk his head towards her and growled. His face revealed his bright green eyes which were enhanced by the redness in his scleras from crying. She broke back quickly, which startled him and caused him to jerk back as he muttered a broken apology and dissolved back into crying. She crawled back to him and whispered words of consolation; rubbing his back. "What's your name?" she asked in a soft, gentle voice. He only looked at her with a tilt of the head. "Can you talk?" He shook his head and referred to something on his wrist. It was a Child Identifier Bracelet; the kind they used in hospitals to identify children who are autistic, have Downs-Syndrome or are Non-Verbal. Dana studied the young boy for a second; the boy wasn't non-verbal; limited but not completely. He didn't have the facial characteristics of a person with Downs-Syndrome, so Dana decided he must have a form of autism. She lifted his hand and checked his bracelet; it read this.

"Aaron Connors"

"Your name is Aaron?"

He nodded

"I'm Dana"

The boy looked up at her as Dana asked where his parents were; he stared in her eyes for a few seconds and shook his head. She sighed; she knew that he was trying to get across that his parent's were dead, presumably killed off by the Infected….or Alex. She thought long and hard and knew that she couldn't just leave her here; most of the orphanages in around the city….she knew the military wouldn't take him in. The Marines might of their own accord but Blackwatch sure as hell would not let them; she laughed bitterly at the thought of Gentek; they would probably vivisect him or perform some sort of screwed up experiment on the boy. Aaron apparently couldn't control his anger….hmm; maybe she could help him with that. She helped him to his feet and asked if he would like to come home with her; which he responded too by nodding eagerly. She smiled as the boy put his slightly smaller arm around her waist; she put her arm around his shoulder. She looked down at him and realized that he couldn't live by himself; he needed her more than anything at this moment with this boy. They entered the apartment and Aaron started looking around, memorizing himself with the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. He advanced towards the laptop but soon got cut off by a sharp "NO" from Dana, when the outbreak was over he could use it. She sat down on the floor and patted the wood beside her; motioning him to sit down next to her. Aaron complied as Dana switched on the Television, not many channels were on; most of them had an emergency warning permanently fixed onto the screen. The National Geographic channel however, did not; Aaron's eyes and ears perked up as a show about dinosaurs came on; Dana wrote down on her phone that he enjoyed things about dinosaurs and presumably other animals. A very good scene came on with a computer-generated Tyrannosaurus Rex coming out of nowhere and devouring an Edmontosaurus; the scene was so damn realistic that Aaron let out a tiny squeak of fear. Dana sighed and held his hand, softly brushing her thumb over his palm.

"It's ok; baby. It's just a show, not real."

Aaron nodded as Dana looked out the window; the dinosaur on the show wasn't real but out there….there were so many real things to be afraid of like real monsters, zombies, government-hired psychopath's with gun and her brother. Her thoughts were distracted by a feeling in her stomach; careful not to make any sudden movements; lest she startle her new friend. "Aaron, I'm just going to go to the bathroom, ok?" Aaron nodded, released her hand and gave his attention back to the giant, computer-generated reptiles on the television screen. A couple of minutes passed of dead silence; saved for the creaking of the front door and the rambling of the narrator which Aaron was listening too.

"_DANA!"_

Following the cry for help; a loud snarl was heard along with the shifting of biomass. She knew who was here and ran to the hallway to stop him; she gasped as Alex Mercer, her brother, stood there with his teeth bared at Aaron, who was crying out of fear. Alex had his claws bared and probably would have eviscerated Aaron if Dana hadn't gotten in front of him, Aaron approached Dana and hugged her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "Who is this?" Alex whispered

"I found him; his parents were killed."

"What's your name?" Alex asked; all Aaron did was cling tighter to Dana and shake his head. Dana reached her head up and whispered in Alex's ear.

"He's autistic; he can't really talk that much. His name is Aaron." Alex nodded in understanding; he saw how the boy clung to Dana as if she was her mother and how she stroked his hair and told him that as long as she was around; her brother would not harm him. Alex nodded to confirm that it was okay for Dana to keep this child; he himself could not feel love as far as he knew; but all that mattered that to Alex was his sister. He personally didn't care if the child lived or died: it didn't matter to him….it was a simple human; nothing more. Alex shrugged and walked away to continue his mission; kill and consume as many of the infected as possible. Dana was left alone with Aaron; so she figured the best thing to do would be to resume watching TV with him. She smiled and patted his head when he lay down with his head in her lap; something she noted about Aaron was that he was very affectionate….it was sweet. A look down into the Aaron's face revealed that he was still scared; Dana sighed, stroked his hair and spoke softly and sweetly to him; telling him her brother would not hurt him.

"Monster" Aaron whispered; Dana could tell seeing Alex in his true form really affected him but she had never seen someone be this scared in her life. She then glanced back at the TV to check the time; 11:57 PM, Aaron yawned which prompted Dana to follow suit. She wondered what to do; Alex normally didn't sleep but if he did he slept on the couch while Dana took the bed. Aaron was still hugging her; she and him got up and took turns using the bathroom to change into their nightclothes, brush their teeth, etc. She climbed into bed first; inviting Aaron with open arms to come in next to her. Aaron happily crawled in and began to snuggle in next to her; sleep consumed the two fairly quickly.

A couple of days passed and Dana discovered life with Aaron was in fact….alright. He may be autistic but he was nowhere near stupid; he had no problems getting dressed, showered or going to the bathroom by himself. The only thing he really couldn't do was cook for himself; that was something Dana didn't mind doing. That morning Dana had cooked some bacon and eggs that Alex managed to pick up from a not-as infected area of the city. Dana had given Alex the task of picking up supplies like food, water, medicine, toiletries and other things. Alex may have had some coffee every now and then but he did not need to eat normal food as his body now regulated itself on pure biomass; the food was now for Dana and Aaron alone. Today had been surprisingly peaceful for the pair; the day had gone as usual for them except that Dana had decided to sing for Aaron at some points in the day. She loved his reaction; his eyes brightening and his smile widening all made her day worthwhile.

_Several hours later….._

Aaron had gotten used to the habit of sleeping with Dana at night; she not only allowed it, but welcomed the affection and love she received from the child. Dana climbed into bed beside him and scooped his smaller frame in her arms, holding him close as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She sang to him a little bit like she always did; tonight she sang his favorite song "You'll Be in My Heart" when she sang it to him for the first time he pointed to her and then his chest; as if to validate the song. When she was done with her song he looked up into her eyes. "Yes?" She asked, he appeared to be trying to get her attention. Dana Mercer's eyes widened as she realized he was trying to speak something important...and was brought to tears at what he whispered.

"Love you..."

Dana was brought to tears as she held him tighter. Looking down at the little boy snuggled against her; she realized that this was her baby, her child, and that she loved him probably more than he did her. She realized that if there were more people as innocent, pure and loving as this boy; maybe humanity could survive. Aaron was Dana Mercer's beacon of hope for New York, for humanity and earth as whole. She whispered that he loved him in return as he fell fast asleep. She sang gently one more.

"You'll be in my heart...

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart

Always..."

Dana Mercer placed a soft, motherly kiss on the forehead of the sleeping angel in her arms, and muttered the final word as sleep consumed her.

_"Always..."_


	2. Chapter 2: This Little Light of Mine

Chapter Two: "This Little Light of Mine"

In the weeks that past; Alex Mercer realized that he did not like Aaron. He didn't like him for one reason and one reason only. The fact that he took up most of Dana's time; the time that she once spent in his company was now spent with that little boy; the ways they spent that time irritated him too. Dana would read a story to him that she had nabbed off the internet, sometimes she would sing to him, play the occasional game of hide-and seek (they both had fun with this one) and sometimes they would even wrestle. That they had to be careful with; they both enjoyed the activity but Dana knew Aaron did not completely know his own strength so if she didn't want to end up like Curley's Wife from "Of Mice and Men" she would have to teach him when to stop; he listened very well for the most part. Sometimes they would just lie down together; either watching TV or listening to music. Dana would hold him close and Aaron would curl up to her; she would stroke his hair as she held him; it was the whole thing that really agitated him. He missed the few times when Alex and Dana used to do that; he figured he had his chance to get rid of the little brat when Dana came out of her and Aaron's room with tears in her eyes. "What happened?" Alex asked; putting his hand on her shoulder. A closer look into her eyes revealed that she was crying tears of joy; and that she was _smiling._

"He….he called me mommy!"

_*Enter Flashback*_

_Dana Mercer held Aaron close to her heart; literally. She cherished every second she had with her child out of fear it might be the last. Due to the Infection and the monsters it produced, the Marines and the martial law freaks known as Blackwatch; it just might be their last. _

"_Aaron?" _

_Aaron flicked his eyes upward at her face; she smiled down and said._

"_I love you" She gently poked his nose; causing him to smile and giggle. It took him a lot of work to say; but he managed to say._

"_Love you, mommy."_

_Dana stared at him with her mouth agape before she broke down into happy tears; Aaron looked concerned. Had he done something wrong? He had to have done something wrong or otherwise she wouldn't be crying. Before Aaron could mutter an apology Dana held him close and kissed his forehead as Aaron rested his head on Dana's chest. It was official; nothing could tear this mother and son apart. _

_*End Flashback*_

Alex growled and turned around as a little tendril of biomass surfaced out of his shoulder due to his anger; "What the hell is up with you?" Dana said as she crossed her arms. "You spend all your time with-"she cut him off right there.

"Listen, Alex. You will always be my brother and father figure; and do not forget for a second that I will ALWAYS love you. But that little boy right there is my _son_; I don't think you understand how much I love him and how much he needs me. Do you know how much work it took him to call me "mommy?" He has special needs; I have to stay with him; and you know what? I love every second with him; he's part of this family now so why don't you take a break from saving New York City and spend some time with your nephew?"

Alex thought for a couple of minutes; maybe he could grow to like the boy. He pretty much had no choice if Dana was going to keep him as her son. Aaron was glued to a television screen, Alex was contemplating what he could do with the boy and Dana was on her laptop; typing something out. Alex leaned over to try to take a closer look at her work; it was a Word document. She turned the other way to avoid letting her brother see. Alex sighed deeply; shrugged and tried to interact with the boy. Dana smiled as her brother sat down next to her son; but sighed as he scrambled over to Dana and clung to her leg. She bent down to his level and stroked his hair

"It's ok baby; my brother doesn't want to hurt you." Alex nodded and chuckled

"As powerful as I am; I'm still scared of her."

It took a few explanations for Aaron to get it but eventually; he swung back over next to Alex and hesitantly sat near him to watch the rest of the program. The entire family enjoyed it; they even had the first family dinner they had in awhile. Dana had cooked with some pasta, tomato sauce and ground beef she managed to loot from a grocery store. Of course; Alex just had his usual coffee. Aaron secretly wondered why Alex never ate; monsters had to eat too; right? Dana and Alex discussed something while Aaron stared off into space; several minutes later Dana walked over to her son and put her hands on his shoulders. "Baby; we were thinking that you and Alex should hang out tomorrow; is that ok?" Aaron shied away at first but accepted after awhile. Dana kissed his cheek and thanked him; it was a good idea to let them do some uncle-nephew bonding. I mean after all; they lived in a non-infected area of the city. Alex had taken special precautions that they did; consuming multiple officers to make sure they got switched around. Dana continued to type away on her laptop and it drove Alex _up the wall_; what was she typing? Was it a report for something, some sort of poem? Alex tried to put that behind him and sat down again next to Aaron; who was accepting him more now. Dana sat down next to the two and as expected he instantly gravitated to her more; leaning his head in her lap. This did not irritate Alex as he would occasionally smile at him from time to time during the program; which was ok for now. Twenty minutes later Dana sent Aaron off to bed in order to spend a little time with her brother. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek

"Thank you; Alex."

She said; Alex holding her tightly for a few minutes. They said their goodnights and Dana went off to bed. As Alex was about to power everything off; he noticed that Dana had conveniently forgotten to take off the Word document she was typing up from her laptop. His guess was right; it was a poem.

_My Beacon of Light: By Dana Mercer._

_To my son; who soundly sleeps._

_You will never know how much out of joy; I weep._

_Every time I look upon you I know the joys._

_Of having a sweet and loving baby boy._

_When I wake up in the morning and see you there_

_It always reminds me how much I care._

_How much I care for those like you._

_Whose minds are pure and whose hearts are true. _

_When I first met you; you were in pain._

_An orphan child kept out in the rain._

_I took you in with open arms._

_It was then promised to keep you safe from harm._

_You don't speak each and every day._

_But your eyes show me all you have to say..=_

_I watch how you laugh, smile and play._

_I watch how you grow more and more each day.._

_But the thing about you I love the most._

_Is the way you keep your family close._

_How you ask to be held at night._

_It makes me smile to see your soul take flight._

_To Aaron Connors-Mercer; this is my gift to you._

_Words which I know in my heart are true._

_In order to see you grow up right._

_Let me give you this sound advice._

_Keep the ones you love so dear._

_You will never know when their time is near._

_Do not fear my brother, please._

_He will fix what he started of New York's disease._

_I know he seems threatening and be scary he can._

_But deep down he is a very, very good man._

That made Alex smile as he continued to read.

_Reading you these words which I know are true._

_Your mother and your uncle; we both love you._

_And no matter what; through hardship or strife._

_You will always be._

_My Beacon of Light._

Alex contemplated the poem as he lie down on the couch; it reminded him of a song his choir used to sing in church. "This Little Light of Mine" He hummed it as he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: A Good Day and a Bad Night

Chapter Three: Good Day; Bad Night.

Alex was awakened suddenly by his sister; who flicked his ear. "Yeah; yeah I'm awake." He mumbled as he got up; his eyes greeted to the sight of Dana standing next to him and Aaron holding her hand. "

You do realize what today is right?"

Dana asked; putting the hand that wasn't held by Aaron on her hip. Alex nodded; it was the day Alex, Dana and Aaron were supposed to go out and do something as a family. He nodded and got up, quickly made and drank his coffee and went out for a second. Aaron tugged Dana's sleeve in confusion which made her smile and stroke his hair.

"Your uncle is just going out to change; don't worry. "

Aaron nodded and hugged her again; Dana always hugs from her adopted son and it never failed to make her smile. Alex popped back in through the window and changed into a man that would have been attractive to Dana it wasn't her brother underneath the skin. Blonde crew-cut, blue eyes and standing at 5ft tall wearing a grey suit. Aaron looked in confusion; where was Uncle Alex? He was just there a second ago and now this man had just….popped up. Aaron jumped just a bit when his uncle's voice had came out of the man; but soon understood that it WAS his uncle underneath the suit. Alex, Dana and Aaron left the apartment and headed off in a car which Alex had stolen from the man he consumed. They lived in Queens so a drive to Bay Terrace wouldn't be so far.

Alex was the one driving as Dana had wanted to stay back with her son. Aaron had become more independent; only by a small amount. It was still a monumental change; while Dana still held him close at night he had become just the slightest bit more solitary. Not getting scared as much while watching TV or listening to something on the radio; he didn't cling to her as much in public places. Dana sighed; it was just a sign of her baby boy growing up just a bit more. She smiled brightly when Aaron laid his head on her chest during the car ride; she pulled the child up into her lap and hugged him. Something she noticed about Aaron was that he just needed a hug every now and then; which was good because she needed one too. "I love you; Aaron" Dana said; kissing him on the forehead. "Love you too; mommy." Aaron mumbled; Alex letting out an exaggerated "D'awwww"

Dana flipped him off; covering Aaron's eyes first.

They arrived at a local movie theatre about 20 minutes later; Dana had to shake Aaron a bit to wake him up. He woke up with a jolt and hopped out of the car with Alex and Dana; Dana sighed happily. "He's like your little boy…." Alex said with somewhat of a smile on his face; Dana looked at him with a smile. "He's your family too; Alex." She retorted and he nodded in correction. Dana knew Alex was by no means a family man; he was still getting used to having the boy in his household. But he liked him; partly because he had too. They saw a PG-13 movie; they both figured that this would be ok because Aaron had learned to differentiate between what was real and what wasn't and both of them were with him. A couple of hours later they came out of the movie theatre wondering what to do next. Alex searched through the wallet of the man he had consumed; searching for any form of cash.

Bingo!

Alex had hit the jackpot; four-hundred dollars. He whispered this to his sister and a light shot up in her eyes. They had decided to go to a restaurant on the upper level of Bay Terrace; "Tony Roma's." They ate well; but Alex and Dana knew that food was scarce during these times. Aside from what they ate at the table; they ordered as many entrée's, salads and desserts as four-hundred dollar's was worth. Each family member loaded as many boxes as they could carry into their arms and packed them tightly into the car. When they got home they started to pack the pasta, other grain dishes, chicken, salad and bread into the fridge. The meat and fish were packed into the freezer due to it being more perishable.

The three were in the living room; Alex and Dana sitting on the couch and Aaron sitting on the floor. Dana was holding something behind her back "Aaron, your mother has something for you." Alex said in the gentlest voice he could muster; causing Dana to smile at his efforts. "You've been a very good boy; so I got you this." Dana smiled as she revealed what was behind her back; it was a white teddy bear with a bright-red heart between its hands. In white, cursive lettering the heart read.

"I love you; Aaron!"

Aaron delightfully accepted the teddy bear and hugged it; causing his mother and uncle to smile. Aaron delightfully accepted the teddy bear and hugged it; causing his mother and uncle to smile. Naturally; Aaron wrapped Dana in a big hug. Not only was she the one who got the bear for him; both Dana and Alex knew that Aaron would always prefer his mother over his uncle. After all it was her who was the one who found him, cared for him and loved him. What they were surprised with was when Aaron gave another hug to Alex. At first he did not know what to do; gently easing into the embrace of his nephew. Dana watched from afar and sighed in relief when Alex had put his strong arms around the boy; careful not to hurt or accidentally consume him. He pulled away after a few minutes and Dana pulled the child into her lap; Aaron held the bear tightly she stroked his hair; which had grown longer….they would need to get him a haircut soon. This was a pretty good week for all three of them. Aaron and Alex had grown fonder of each-other, they had gotten a crap-ton of rations and they had fun today. An alarm beeped and Aaron ran up to them; hugged Alex; Dana gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran off to bed. Dana would go to bed in a few hours; she and her brother decided to spend some quality time together.

A few hours later; a scream came from the bedroom.

Dana rushed to his bedroom to find him crying; huddled in fear. She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. She knew he was having a bad dream but she asked him if he was for concern; he nodded. "About what?" she asked; Aaron pointed outside to a bunch of BLACKWATCH soldiers scouting out an area and taking out a few uninfected citizens for some reason. She sighed deeply in concern and sympathy; she saw a couple of BLACKWATCH soldiers that the BLACKWATCH agent's that hit him must have caused him intense stress. She climbed into bed with him and held him protectively close; every little body movement conveyed that he was scared. He drew short; shuddering breath's, his heartbeat was quick, he trembled softly in her arms, his face was buried into the crook of her neck. His whimpers made her want to cry with him; she knew that BLACKWATCH was a ruthless organization; but how could they abuse such an innocent, helpless little boy with a condition like his? She stroked his hair, rubbed his back and whispered words of safety, relief and most importantly, love. After a couple of hours his crying and trembling subsided; but he was still terrified. Dana stayed awake to watch her son; she had never seen him this scared in her time with him.

Her singing had always calmed her down; she sang lullabies like "Hush Little Baby", "Allouette" and her favorite "All the Pretty Little Horses" she learned that in school. Aaron had fallen asleep in her arms but Dana was wide awake; vigilant towards anyone who would hurt her child. In his sleep; Aaron nestled into her arms and she smiled deeply at his affection. His breathing appeared to regulate itself as Dana propped himself up to look at him; his eyes were flicking themselves back and forth underneath his eyelids, he was dreaming. There was no sign of fear in his facial expressions; indicating he must have had a good dream; or at least better than what he just had. She gently pushed a lock of hair away from his face, stood up and looked out the window. The BLACKWATCH agent's were gone; they had to sleep to at some point. She made a vow that no one would hurt Aaron; even if her own life was given in the process.

The next morning everything seemed to be a lot better; Dana and Aaron's breakfast consisted of a shared breakfast entrée they had ordered. Alex had his coffee as usual; but this time he had a piece of cake with it. Dana had paid more attention to Aaron that day after the nightmare incident; which Alex asked about. "What was his nightmare about?" He asked; she sighed deeply and squeezed her brother's hand.

"You know what happened to him right?"

Alex shook his head and she explained "When I first saw him; a BLACKWATCH soldier had just got done beating him for no reason….he still has nightmares about it."

Alex growled under his breath; he made it quite known that he was really getting sick of BLACKWATCH.. Both Dana and Alex smiled as Aaron sat between them; each one of them held one of his small hands in theirs. Dana looked her son dead in the eyes and promised him that they wouldn't let the armored, hooded figures hurt him ever again. Aaron nodded and Alex hugged him, Dana held both of them tightly. Their little group hug ended itself after a few seconds and Alex turned on the TV to check on the news; it was the same as usual. The virus was messing up things; BLACKWATCH was messing up things; Alex Mercer was messing up things. He always laughed when he saw himself on the news. It was funny to him. Aaron nestled himself on Dana's side and she wrapped his arm around him. She kissed his forehead as all three of them became focused on the news report.


End file.
